First impressions flew out the window and lines were drawn during just the second week inside the Big Brother Canada House. Season 7 immediately kicked into high gear this week with its first major blindside after 31-year-old poet and DJ Maki Moto was ousted from the game following a dramatic tie-breaking vote on Day 14.

It was civil technician Dane Rupert who earned the title of Head of Household and placed Maki on the block as a pawn alongside Montreal bartender Kyra Shenker, with the intention to eventually backdoor alliance threat Samantha Picco instead.

But when her showmance partner Adam Pike snagged the Power of Veto, he kept the nominations the same and Maki was forced to scramble to collect as many votes as he could heading into eviction night. While he believed he had the numbers to stay, the charismatic houseguest was stunned when the house was evenly split, resulting in a tie vote.

“I truly believed they were on my side. But people flip-flop very easily,” he said in good spirits the morning after his jaw-dropping ouster. “I was confident that I had made a big presence in the house and it would feel empty without me. I didn’t think it would be a tie. And worse-case scenario, when it came to a tie, Dane swore that he had me no matter what. So, I was confident either way that I would stay.”

The final decision fell on the shoulders of the 27-year-old HoH, who gave Maki his word that he would be safe. But after Maki made the rookie move of sharing that he would later be gunning for Dane, the Kelowna-based technician sent Maki packing.

“I love Dane. I think he’s a great dude. But now I realize that he was pretty much lying to my face. To give his word and to put up as a promise, I took it at face value. For him at that last moment, it was quite spineless. It just proved to me that people will do anything for grand prizes and money and they’ll just change on you because you seem like a threat.”

Although he had been duped by many players in the house, Maki takes full responsibility for his novice gameplay and admits that his lack of knowledge of the game is what ultimately led to his downfall.

“Not knowing the ins and outs of the game probably played a big role. The true honesty and over-honesty that I had probably played a big role, because I thought I could trust people with my thoughts and ideas. But little did I know, just saying a name or just bringing up anything could ultimately be used against you in the house. My honesty backfired on me,” he said.

In the end, the animated performer wants to be remembered for the energy he brought into the Big Brother Canada house. “I had a great experience. It was a wild ride. I was down for the whole experiment of it all. I wanted to grow as a human and I definitely did. I learned how to sit with my emotions. I proved to myself that I am a force to be reckoned with.”